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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Suspect in 2007 disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann freed
from German prison in unrelated case
By Peter Wilkinson, CNN
Updated:
3:52 AM EDT, Wed September 17, 2025
Source: AP
A German man who is under investigation in the disappearance of British
toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago was released from prison
Wednesday after serving his sentence in an unrelated case, police said.
The man, who has been identified by media as Christian Brueckner, had
been serving a seven-year sentence that stemmed from his 2019
conviction for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal.
He left the prison at Sehnde, near Hannover in northern Germany, on
Wednesday morning.
In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on
suspicion of murder in connection with McCann’s disappearance on May
3, 2007, from an apartment complex in the Portuguese resort of Praia da
Luz. They said they assumed the girl was dead.
Police have since carried out more searches in Portugal. But the
suspect, who has denied any involvement in her disappearance, has not
been charged in the case. The investigation is not affected by his
release. He also remains a suspect in an investigation into McCann’s
disappearance being conducted by Britain’s Metropolitan Police, who
say he refused their request for an interview.
His lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, has said charges would have been filed
against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.
The 48-year-old spent many years in Portugal, including in the Algarve
resort of Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
Investigators in the UK, Portugal and Germany are still piecing
together what happened on the night 3-year-old Madeleine disappeared.
She was in the same room as her brother and sister – 2-year-old twins
– while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends at a
nearby restaurant.
The suspect was tried last year over several unrelated sexual offenses
he was alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 and
was acquitted in October. The presiding judge said the evidence was
insufficient for a conviction, that the court heard from unreliable
witnesses and that some had been influenced by media reports on the
defendant.
The state court in Hildesheim has said it cannot legally disclose
whether he will have to fulfill any conditions after his release. But
Fülscher confirmed to regional public broadcaster NDR that his client
will be required to wear an electronic foot tag, report regularly to
probation services and give up his passport. German weekly Der Spiegel
first reported on that decision, without naming sources.
He still faces an October 27 court date in Oldenburg in northwestern
Germany in a case in which he is accused of insulting a prison
employee. A district court in the city sentenced him to six weeks in
prison for that, but the defense has appealed.
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